NAACP Urges President Obama to Grant Temporary Safe Haven to Haitian Refugees Already In The U.S.

The Issue:

Temporary protected status (TPS) grants temporary protection
from deportation to nationals of a country in which environmental
or political events have occurred which make it temporarily unsafe
to deport them or when armed conflict poses a serious threat to
public safety. TPS has been granted to nationals of many countries
including those of Nicaragua and Honduras in 1999 following
Hurricane Mitch, and of El Salvador in 2001 following severe
earthquakes.

Recent devastating environmental disasters from which Haiti has
not recovered, continuing violence, and unstable political
conditions pose a serious threat at this time to the personal
safety of anyone forcibly repatriated to Haiti. Last year's
storms and hurricanes killed hundreds and rendered hundreds of
thousands homeless. Fifteen percent of Haiti's already
fragile economy was destroyed, the equivalent of eight to ten
Hurricane Katrinas hitting the United States in the same month.
Haitian deportees face hunger, homelessness, and grave threats to
their security. The Haitian government's ability to provide
basic governmental services--clean water, education, passable road
and basic healthcare--has been severely compromised by the natural
disasters and food crisis in 2008. Repatriating Haitians exposes
them to these dangerous conditions, while imposing an additional
burden on government resources that are already stretched too
thin.

Furthermore, granting TPS to Haitian refugees would help Haiti
recover, as Haitians in the United States could obtain work permits
and would increase the already significant flow of remittances to
their family and friends back home. Haitians who receive that aid
are more likely to stay and rebuild Haiti. Many depend on those
remittances for their very survival. That flow of dollars is among
the best foreign aid that the United States can provide, and it
costs taxpayers nothing. Strengthening Haiti’s economy will
be the only sure way to ensure that more Haitians will not risk
their lives on a perilous oversea journey to the United
States. Granting Haitians TPS would also directly assist
Haiti's nascent democracy in its efforts to recover from these
conditions, stabilize the country's economy, rebuild its political
and economic institutions, and provide a future of hope for Haiti's
people. TPS would be extended only to those Haitians
currently residing in the United States, so any concerns about a
mass exodus to the US are unfounded.

Haiti is the hemispheres oldest democracy, and has always had a
special relationship to the United States. Haitian immigrants
have long contributed to America’s diverse and vibrant
culture. The current plight of Haitians in their homeland
clearly qualifies them for TPS here in the United States, and thus
the NAACP strongly urges President Obama to grant TPS to Haitian
refugees. Furthermore, the NAACP strongly supports
legislation introduced by Congressman Alcee Hastings (FL) to grant
TPS to Haitians (H.R. 144).